September 16, 2025 — Coastal county leaders from North Carolina convened at the Morehead City Civic Center for the second meeting of the North Carolina Coastal Counties Fisheries Coalition. The coalition aims to create a united front to address issues impacting the state’s commercial fishing industry.
During the meeting, leaders set priorities for the coalition, identifying education, water quality, and predator management as the top three concerns. Chris Chadwick, who was sworn in as vice chairman of the coalition, highlighted the challenges facing the industry.
“Our crab species has become predators of other fish, our water quality runoff, and certain things like that are affecting the nursery areas,” said Chadwick. “Certainly educating our fellow legislatures in the western part of the state who may not be familiar with coastal issues like shrimping and fishing.”